2017 News Releases

Statement on President Trump’s Call for Investigation of Voter Fraud

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ACLU of RI executive director Steven Brown issued the following statement today in response to President Trump’s call for an investigation into alleged widespread voter fraud:

“President Trump’s irresponsible accusations concerning widespread voter fraud have no basis in fact, and can only fuel confusion and reckless calls for policies that promote the suppression of legitimate votes.

“Unfortunately, Rhode Island bears some responsibility for giving this falsehood credence. By enacting voter ID legislation five years ago, Rhode Island played into the unfounded fears about in-person identification fraud that the President is now exploiting.

“From our poll monitoring, we know that this totally unnecessary barrier to voting has led to the disenfranchisement of some Rhode Islanders each election. It is time for the state to repeal voter ID and thus help disavow the baseless fear-mongering that the President’s comments promote.”